1.2 [cOmponents]...

Space 1 - kit; 2 solids

Space 2 - kit; one column, two walls

Space 3 - kit; one wall, two columns

Provided with the concept word revolve, immediately what came to mind was revolving doors and walls and windows. I wanted to venture away from that which was so literal and came upon words and definitions like to move in a circular or curving course or orbit, to focus or center on and to think about or consider. When considering how to layout my spaces i had to take into account the sizes provided and the 3 kit of parts. Within the first space i focused on a place for consideration. A small, intimate space used for reflection and the revolution around ideas. I chose to use the two solids kit because the space is already the smallest of the three, i wanted to utilize the space rather than add walls to make it any smaller. The second, I concentrated around the word "orbit". I placed a column in the center of the space and am centering the individual spaces around it. The third focused around physically revolving a space. A curved wall placed right at the door forces the figure to move in a specific direction. These diagrams help illustrate the circulation, destinations, boundaries and objects of the spaces. You may notice how there is some overlap showing that majority of the individual areas within the small space can easily be multifunctional.

wi1 [dEsigner bio and gOaLs..rOund 2]...

     Here I am in a new year, a new semester and I can't help but wonder; am I headed in the direction I want to be headed? Am I on track to achieve the long-term goals I've set for myself? Am I truly discovering me? I'm thinking that if I have to wonder about these things, most likely I may be going astray. The time has come to get back on track, again.
     A fresh year for a fresh new attitude. When asked to list my goals for the semester it sounded fairly similar to listing new years resolutions. I find these hard to believe in because why wait til the new year? If it's an achievement you hope to accomplish, start now, start today. I want to challenge myself beyond my means. It's time to stop playing it safe and take risks, disregarding the outcome (to some extent). Manage my time so there's enough to go around. I'm forced to manipulate this set amount of hours to attain excellence. Impossible!! I want to polish my hand rendering skills discovering my own unique styles of art and work. Be able to refer to the past through my own knowledge and generate connections. Ultimately I have an appetite for becoming more highly skilled in my work as well as in my life.
     When asked to specify a list of strengths, I froze. One of the hardest occurrences for me is to talk about myself, especially since I'm not completely sure of who that is. I would like to say I'm coordinated and full of ideas. I have excellent time management skills and am always filled with great input. I have an exceptionally easy time explaining and illustrating my thoughts and objectives. Blah blah blah blah blah. The reality is, I'm human. I make mistakes and continue to learn and grow from them. Sometimes I procrastinate to a point where I'm awake for days at a time. One strength I can and will claim, however, is that I am a perfectionist and very analytical.
     This first week of classes was a wake-up call for me. It's definitely time to get my ish together and take care of business. No longer will I doubt myself or compare myself to others. I'm taking control of my life, starting now!

Self- Control, Time- Management, Life

wi1 [dEsigner bio and gOaLs]..

       At the beginning of every semester I always think back on what i've accomplished so far. In my year and a half in the Interior Architecture program i've definitely discovered things about myself that I never knew and have done things I didn't know I could. With all this discovery, however, I still can't help but to doubt myself. I'm surrounded by extremely talented people that i've come to admire and wonder to myself if i'll ever be as talented and creative as they are.

       In our first class of this semester we were asked to write our goals which wasn't hard. Well, my goals are to further explore myself as a designer to discover who that really is, be able to better link the past with the present (because we as designers rely on precedent), polish my writing skills; or lack there of, maintain an improved and more detailed blog to showcase my work and better manage my time (which is a never ending battle). Are these goals reachable? Of course they are, why wouldn't they be? Focus and determination I guess. But that doubt.. that doubt is always dwelling.

       When asked to name our strengths, I froze. It took a while to get started with that list. It always seems the hardest to talk about yourself, especially if you're not 100% sure of who that person is. Throughout this semester, I plan to further discover that person.

       An interesting activity we partook in during class was the Change Style Indicator test we took. Basically this test was to help show how you react to change. It was surprising to find out that I was in the “originators” category. The “originators” are the risk takers, unconventional and follow the rules but will just as easily break them. Does this describe me? Possibly, but I don't want people to think I can't be a team player and stay within boundaries. I'm like water; I can take the shape of anything you put me in. (hahaha)

Stay tuned for what happens next as the semester progresses........

What type of mindset i should be in.. i need to be in.. and i will be in!! (http://doubttheconventional.com/)

Point: Explorations

            As this semester comes to an end, the time has arrived to come clean. I’ve never been a huge history buff. The information just never seems to stick and I find it difficult to recognize relationships between one of the time periods to the next. This semester’s class for me was a bit of a challenge because of this. Majority of our assignments, such as these points and our counterpoints, were meant to help us make comparisons and connections to the past lessons and methods we’ve learned. How can I achieve that if I find it difficult to come across these assessments? I will say that my fellow classmates were a huge help. A simple conversation or short discussion was usually what I needed to steer my thought process in the right direction. I would also like to thank Patrick for making this experience an enjoyable one. Never have I experienced a teacher with so much enthusiasm and fondness of a particular subject. I learned that in every class, expect the unexpected.

Our last section was entitled Explorations. If ever there was a disregard for the regurgitation of design ideas and methods, as well as, new rules and systems written, this was it by far. With all the information and visuals available to us as designers I can’t seem to understand why we’ve seem to become lazy in a sense. The artifacts, spaces, buildings and places being designed today, in this time we call modernism, don’t explore the knowledge we have from the past. The minimalism and simplicity are cop outs to what we are truly capable of. On every corner we’re surrounded by these cookie-cutter style homes that are merely stuck in a spot and described by the name “suburbia”; these homes that possess no personality or deep sense of importance.

The idea of commodity, firmness and delight are no longer in use. These new “modern” style spaces and objects ooze with delight and, with our technological knowledge, are as sturdy as a rock, but lack any sort of commodity. As a reminder; commodity referring to a specific use, firmness referring to the stability of a structure and delight referring to the overall feeling given by an artifact, space, building or place. Modernism has been described as sterile, cold and putting no thought into human beings. In class we discussed our crisis where it’s believe that design is no longer for everyone. Design has formed an eliteness intended for only certain people. The world is more interested in the individual rather than the interest of the community and because we have the power to transport goods and services from all over the world, we do it, and fill spaces with no consideration to themes. We collect items, whether they go together or not. Finally, because of this eliteness, our interest in individual vs. community and our collecting, there is no longer a specified proposed language, there is no “right way” of doing things and there’s a loss of design vocabulary. 

"Suicide by Modernism" -- Mark Kostabi (2005)

I chose this picture entitled “Suicide by Modernism” by Mark Kostabi because I feel it sums up how most people feel about this idea of modernism; where multiple ideas are thrown into one piece of work or the past ideas are left on the ground to fertilize the earth. Notice how the “old school” styles are in black and white laying on the ground while the colors and vibrancies are celebrated hovering over them. Hopefully one day, with our generation of designers, we can spin the design continuum back in the “right” direction.

rEading cOmprehension 7...

**Within the theme of the exhibit assigned to your group, select ONE work and draw a diagram of the
work, using the principles and elements of design. Write a 250-word annotation for your diagram to the
themes of the EXPLORATIONS unit and the readings assigned for this unit. In your annotation, analyze
and include at least one other work of art in the theme you have been assigned, make 3-5 appropriate
citations from the readings, and consider SCALE (artifact, space, building, and place) as you complete
your work.

--

According to dictionary.com, one of the definitions of art is “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” Although we are all people, I feel that’s the only thing majority of us have in common. We implement different personalities, difference in opinions and difference in expression.  I believe that this definition is also a characterization for the modernism movement. During this time, as we discussed during history class, our crisis is we now possess this confidence where we believe individuals to be more important than the community. Design is now for the elite and well off. We’ve lost any sort of design language.

The Town & Country theme of the Greensboro Collects show in the Weatherspoon Art Museum was an expression on how smaller towns and countries have yet forgotten about the community. Concentrating on the piece titled “Friday Night at the Ozark Airdome,” by Walter Barker, the idea of community is still relevant in this image of the town watching a movie outside. With its contrast in colors and textures, this work of art expresses the audience as almost one large form. The individual people can only be distinguished by the various colored tinctures. The simplicity and scale of the house in the background and wooden fence express how we’ve lost sight of the minimalism of the past and are more focused on how much more an individual can realize before the other. One thing is for sure, the idea of commodity, firmness and delight are present within this piece in the balance of colors and whites, repetition of similarities and scale of the piece as a whole.

The work of Deborah Grant also caught my eye. Entitled, “By the Skin of Our Teeth,” it’s a mixed media piece made of collaged paper, ink, and oil. Although multiple types of media were used it’s still a very simplistic piece. It “stresses purity of form and sleekness of surface while increasingly exploiting the expressive power of the irregular form introduced into an otherwise insistent structural grid,” (Roth, pg. 569). Richard Meier, a designer who drew influenced form Le Corbusier, concentrate the use of pure white geometric forms and pipe railings, as in the Douglass House in 1971-1973. Similar to the design style of Richard Meier, this piece expresses “minimalism and reduction of materials.” (Roth, 570)  

"By the Skin of Our Teeth #2" -- Deborah Grant (2006)

Douglass House by Richard Meier

rEading cOmprehension 6...

[1] A common theme of the early twentieth century found in Roth, Harwood, and Massey set the tone for an understanding of styles in architecture and design influenced by fine art. Selecting either Arts + Crafts or Art Nouveau, TRACE the influences of the selected style in more than two nations. In your answer, you should include evidence from the readings and at least two annotated images as support for your analysis of influences.

***

Art Nouveau explores a new style in the visual arts and architecture that developed in Europe and North America at the end of the nineteenth century. It’s a style of design attempting to create a new vision that discards any past precedents and expresses a more visual language. Primarily a style of line and ornament, it’s mostly seen in architecture, interiors, furniture, graphic arts and the decorative arts. Designers of the Art Nouveau time believed that all arts should be creative and imaginative, work in harmony to create total works of art. This was more than a simple style, it was a way of thinking about modern society and new methods of production.

In Germany, there is a strong urge for a new style after industrialization. Munich becomes the major concentration of the arts. This movement began with the works of Hermann Obrist, Auguste Endell, Peter Behrens, Bruno Paul and Richard Riemerschmid.  The use of strong, asymmetrical geometry, extreme curves and an emphasis on decoration were popular. The style had a small impact on architecture but significantly influenced textiles, jewelry and furniture. This style movement was spread across Germany and into Belgium. It is credited for the advance design that thrived in Belgium during that time period. An example of Art Nouveau in Germany would be the Majolika Haus by Otto Wagner in Austria. Named after the weather proof, painted ceramic floral designs on the façade, with its decorative iron balconies and flexible S-shaped linear embellishment, this structure is most definitely considered Art Nouveau.

Majolika Haus by Otto Wagner in Austria

In Spain, Art Nouveau appears majorly in Barcelona. In Harwood (pg. 484),  in mentions two trends that were revealed, “ The mainstream Art Nouveau, called Moderismo or Arte Moderno, which follows the artistic lead of Belgium and France. The second trend is inspired by the Catholic Church’s view of contemporary life, which seeks to mold society both theologically and aesthetically.” A popular dominance of this trend is Antoni Gaudi. His forms were a display of twisted features, decorative details and attention to ergonomics. Materials included iron, stone, and ceramic tile often used to convert objects into renditions of flowers, trees and waves to create a surreal sense of place. An example of Art Nouveau in Spain is the Casa Batllo in Barcelona, Spain, with its undulating line movement made possible by a curvilinear metal frame and concrete, and it’s arches in relation to body’s skeleton.

Casa Batllo by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain

 Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement which drew attention to the return to nature, beautiful designs, graceful shapes and waves, in which are represented by vegetables, flowers, insects and colored birds. The Art Nouveau period communicates its expression in different art shapes, like stone front walls, ceramics, and iron, interiors with curved walls, frequently with an enthusiastic ornamentation.

[2] Originating at the Bauhaus and in the work of LeCorbusier, the so-called Modern movement deeply influenced design and architecture of the twentieth century. The great debate raised by this new approach to design involved the presence of the machine in the design process and final products.

SPECULATE about the implications of “machines for living” and the famous dictum “less is more” on design today. Use at least one ARTIFACT, SPACE, or BUILDING in your answer, providing a salient image (cited) and annotation to help bolster your argument.

**

The Modern Movement, also known as the International Style, was classified by three broad principles, “emphasis upon volume rather than mass; regularity arising from standardized elements rather than axial symmetry; and emphasis on proportions and materials rather than arbitrarily applied decoration.” (Harwood, pg. 617) Modernized structures demonstrate simplicity and clean lines, not masked by embellishment. It concentrates on purity of forms such as cubes, cylinders or rectangles. Structurally sound using frames of steel and reinforced concrete, free and open floor plans are likely. Because of this, interior spaces are free flowing and lightly furnished with often moveable partitions. The famous dictum “less is more” is apparent in modernism because, “interiors are created primarily by architects who emphasize function, flexibility, efficiency and practicality. Form and proportion are more important than ornament and decoration are.” (Harwood, pg. 628)

The presences of machines are a major influence on interiors during this period. “Kitchens and baths are models of machine-like efficiency because designers plan them according to principles developed by the new discipline of domestic science or home economics.” (Harwood, pg.629) Majority of these decisions are made in the building of public housing where space is limited.

Pavillon de l'Espirit Nouveau interior by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret

The Pavillon de l’Espirit Nouveau which is described as a "machine for living in" and compared to similar descriptions of automobiles, suggested that the basis of design for modern living was found in the effectiveness and economy of the workplace rather than in the extravagance and eccentricity of the traditional home or apartment, and relied more upon the skills of the engineer than those of the artist.

[3] From the assigned pages in Roth, Harwood, and Massey, SELECT an image that you believe explodes the notion that Modern interiors and objects were black and white. Fully RENDER your own design exploration of that image through color, material, and light and appropriately annotate and cite the image to prove this point.

The Johnson House interior by Phillip Johnson (Harwood pg. 605)

 Although the use of color within this house of glass designed by Phillip Johnson is monochromatic, it's not in black and white. The simplicity of colors compliments the structure of the building itself. With the warm colors and materials, this space seems to be comfortable, until you notice the no privacy part.

rEflections sUmmary: mOre cOnversations

Kayla McDonagh started her point essay for reflections with reference to a cartwheel.  I found this to be extremely true. She says, “First, you start off in a box, meaning you are following the rules. Second, you step out of the box, exploring different possibilities. Third, you turn upside down, breaking the rules. And finally forth, you revert to the box, creating a new set of rules.” It’s a cycle that continues to repeat itself within multiple time periods. There were reflections on the past as well as from other countries. The west began to borrow precedents from the east. A great example of this would be the Royal Pavilion with its obvious exterior influence from the Middle East in India and its Chinese interior influence, also known as chinoiserie.

                “The 19^th century was a time in history where design not only blossomed through advancements in production of new materials but also where design struggled to make one solid identity.” (Dajana Nedic) The Industrial Revolution played a major role in the design style and techniques of this reflections time period. With the wider variety of transportation, large and heavy materials could be easily transported to locations bringing the introduction of cast iron, glass and steel.

                During this period there was a lot of confusion about what is the right way to do things. What is the “right” design language that everyone should follow? Daniel Salgado explained how this controversy led to designers and architects to this state of mind where the concept was “everything goes.” With the opening of the trade routes the influences were massive.This brought about the World's Fair of 1851 at the Crystal Palace, an exhibition of the world's arts and designs.

                Again, these three point essays were very fantastic. Each discussed a new idea and broadened my mind about the reflections period. I can now gain a sense of what it was all about.

Spinning wheel illusion; the cycle of design

Crystal Palace; exhibition of the world